The Practice is the Path

 

Not everyone in life finds a path that is meaningful and helps cure the spirit. Many never make it to the trailhead. More often, people end up moving through life in pursuit of the next best thing. Many, by default, end up on roads that lead them to strive for gain - making money, achieving popularity, and being successful. These roads have fast lanes, enabling people to move at greater speeds and achieve their goals in less time. Some end up in cul-de-sacs, confined by lives focused on pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain.

A path is different. On a path, you are meant to meander, to enjoy each footfall. Every ascent and descent is part of the journey. And there may be moments - days, weeks, and months - when you feel totally lost. A path is winding and circuitous and the experience of losing your way is part of the way. A path is wide enough only for footsteps. You cannot drive an RV equipped with a kitchen and flat-screen TV down it. By necessity, you must travel light.

Sometimes you find yourself on the path by happenstance, someone on a whim takes you there, or you look for it on the world wide web. It doesn't matter how you get there. What matters is that sure-footed, with shoulders back and heart lifted, you trust the pads of your feet.

The path I am speaking of is not a trail that cuts through canyons and meadows or crisscrosses the mountain. The path I am referring to is the Big Path, the Tao, the Way. It is a path that opens the lungs, fires the spirit, and awakens faith. It is the path of pilgrimage, one that leads straight to the heart of being.

~ Tias Little

from his wise book The Practice is the Path